


Little Witch Academia: Origins

by Loboapache



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Little Witch Academia
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Death, Dragon Age Spoilers, F/F, F/M, Other, People are mages, Slow Burn, There are so many tags, and fighting, but it will happen, but not a lot of blood?, it's gonna be fun, lots of them - Freeform, maybe smut, people are templars, rewrite of DA:O, that means blood, though still fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-08 19:04:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16435088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loboapache/pseuds/Loboapache
Summary: Year 9:30 In the Age of The Dragon. The Darkspawn once stayed below ground infesting the Deep Roads and pushing the Dwarves farther from their homes are now invading the land of Ferelden in numbers unseen since the last Blight. King Cailan Theirin, along with his uncle the once famous general and now Teyrn of Gwaren Loghain Mac Tir, have begun pushing back against these raiding hordes.Alongside these legendary figures, and more, are our once witches and now Mages. The Blue and Red teams from Little Witch Academia must join forces in this world of dark fantasy, step beyond what they have been taught their whole lives and by the Blessings of the Maker and the Ancient Elven gods they may gather enough allies to push back the unending tide that is the Darkspawn Blight.





	1. A Bloody Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! To those who follow me on tumblr (loboapache18), this is that fic I've been teasing with for a while now. It's a rewrite of the plot of Dragon Age Origins with the Witches from Luna Nova. This fic will probably be /very/ long and in true bioware fashion will have romance options (for me the writer mostly). Honestly I hope you just enjoy this ride. I know it's a slower start, but I promise it will pick up as we go along. If you have any comments or questions please don't hesitate!

Year 9:30 In the Age of The Dragon. The Darkspawn, a race of demonic creatures bent on war and destruction and believed to be descendant from those so foolish to step into the Maker's own city with their taint, who once stayed below ground infesting the Deep Roads and pushing the Dwarves farther from their homes are now invading the land of Ferelden in numbers unseen since the last Blight. King Cailan Theirin, along with his uncle the once famous general and now Teyrn of Gwaren Loghain Mac Tir, have begun pushing back against these raiding hordes.

The King of Ferelden has called together his forces and has marched south to the once formidable, but now until recently, abandoned, fortress of Ostagar. Set on the edge of the Korcari Wilds, Ostagar was built to hold the farthest holdings of the Tevinter Imperium in the southeast before the Tevinter collapse during the First Blight on the land. However with it’s walls still standing and the still present Tower of Ishal it still has been deemed to be an excellent staging point. Cailan hopes that with the help of the Grey Warden company in Ferelden, The mages from the Tower near lake Calenhad, and his own trained soldiers, the army will be strong enough to repel the forces that are raveging the lands and destroy their leader, the great Archdemon. Though due to the kings haste many of his vassals have been unable to mobilize with as much speed, leaving them behind. Even this setback the king’s hope will soon be tested as scouts from the surrounding areas come in with reports of the massive army of Darkspawn heading in their direction.

On the eve of what many hope to be the decisive battle against the Darkspawn threat, many straggling reinforcements continue to trickle into the camp. Small groups of soldier, scouts, and various camp followers found their way through the swamps and wildlife of the Wilds to join in on the moment of glory, however one group of eight find themselves at the edge of destiny.

 

* * *

 

The last few weeks on the road had been trying Knight-Corporal Diana Cavendish’s patience. Her first mission after she had taken finished her vigil and taken her Vows of Loyalty should have been an easy one. She had even been allowed to choose the team that would accompany her on it, but her expectations were quickly dashed as she stepped into the entrance hall to Kinloch Hold, Ferelden’s school of magic for the Circle of Magi.  
Her and her companion’s charges were lined up, back facing the main door when the Knight-Corporal stepped in. Three mages stood in a straight line facing their Senior Enchanter, a woman of mid age, a once pale complexion (now red with anger and frustration), and holding what had been a Senior Enchanter’s Cowl but was now a smoldering bundle of cloth in her hands.

  
“Not even an hour before you are to leave the Tower for the first time since you have arrived here, you have slipped into the Circle’s storage cave, burned much of the supplies that we would need soon for teaching the younger mages claiming that there were ‘Giant Spiders’ climbing around inside of the cave. We search and clear the caves on a monthly basis Miss Kagari, we would know if the caves were infested.” The Senior Enchanter berated the trio severely, one of them finally stepped forward a half a step and as they did so their hood fell.

  
A younger woman, with long brunette hair that seemed to be tied in the back, had thrown her arms out to the side in frustration. “They were there Senior Enchanter! I swear! Had it not been for Sucy’s bombs they would have eaten us when we went in to supply cave to gather our traveling equipment!.”  
One of the other mages shifted ever so slightly when ‘Miss Kagari’ spoke the name of her companion and Diana could hear a monotone voice speak up then, “If it hadn’t been for Akko, we would have burned only a quarter of the supplies. With her help we got all of them.” The sarcasm in her voice almost caused Diana to smirk, but she controlled herself against any outward emotions. Kagari turned her face to her companion, revealing the angular features of a young elf (Diana estimated that she was no older than the Knight-Corporal herself) and bright red eyes that even in the face of her angry teacher, still seemed to be on the verge of laughter. “Right, Exactly! Wait… Sucy! I was helping! It’s not my fault that the spider’s webs caught fire after my Cone of Flame!”

  
Diana stepped forward, her own templar companions flanking, the downward sword emblazoned breastplate shone brightly as it and the greatsword on her back caught the torch light around her. She cleared her throat to attempt to draw the mage’s attention to her rather than continuing their own argument. The extra noise of the cough and the clicking of the trio’s armor seemed to draw the attention of the Senior Enchantress shifted from anger to what seemed to be a pleasant smile.

  
“Ah! Excellent! I am glad to see you are here, an hour early it seems!” The older mage smiled over the shoulders of her three students. “I apologize you had to see that, but we could not allow them to slip away just because they were leaving today.”

  
The Knight- Corporal nodded her agreement, her hands coming upward to pull the great helm from her head, tucking it older her arm, a bundle of tea green and blonde hair dislodged itself from the coif that she wore underneath. “Completely understandable, we would not want something as… upsetting as what I had just heard to go unpunished. It would only invite more issues if it was not addressed now.” Diana straightened herself, heels of her well cobbled boots clicking together as she brought herself to attention. “However, I have been rude. Allow me to introduce myself. I have Knight-Corporal Diana Cavendish of the Ferelden Chantry in Denerim. With me is Knight Hannah English.” When her name was said one of Diana’s companions stepped forward, pulling down a chainmail coif of her own. A woman of average stature with long auburn hair and hazel eyes. Diana knew that her chainmail armor and templar robes covered up a lithe woman, which she assumed was a by-product of how much time she spent training with the bow she carried over her shoulder.

  
Hannah snapped a quick salute to the Senior Enchantress, “Ma’am.”

  
Diana nodded at her subordinate before continuing, “and this is Knight Barbara Parker.” She motioned to her last companion, a woman with a tight bun of black hair with piercing teal blue eyes armored in the bright plate of a templar with a decorated longsword on her hip and the kite shield of their order hanging from one side of her traveling pack, her own greathelm hanging from the other. Barbara snapped off her own crisp salute replying as Hannah had before going back to a bit more of an at-ease stance.

  
The older mage nodded to each of them in turn, “I am Senior Enchanter Anne Finnelan. I oversee.” She grimaces for a moment before correcting herself. “I oversaw the teaching of the mages of the Red Team before you. They are all capable and powerful mages who have passed their Harrowing with flying colors.” She motioned to the mage was had stepped out of line, “This is Atsuko Kagari, she is a primal mage of some power, and with this past incident being the exception she often specializes in the colder element of her abilities.” The red-eyed mage turned around to face the newcomers with an appraise glare, but before she could open her mouth Finnelan had moved on.

  
“This is Sucy Manbavaran. Specializes in the lore of plants and their uses and has quite the talent for slowing and weakening her opponents.” Sucy turned to face the trio with a mildly bored expression on her face until her lips formed a tight line as her eyes settled onto the downward sword on each of their tabards. The templar trio tensed as she turned, each having a spike of suspicion as they tried to locate Sucy’s hands and as Diana’s mouth began to open, Sucy rolled her eyes and pulled her hands from the hidden folds of her robes spreading them wide. “Calm down Chantry Dog, I just have old hands.” Her voice having barely concealed disdain under it’s lethargic tones as she flipped her lavender hair so it covered on of her eyes.

  
The third mage took that moment to turn around, their voice light in the air to cut through the tension that had been building. “Sucy, be nice. They’re here to watch out for us and to protect us. There is no reason to be rude.” Sucy simply gave a half hearted shrug to her last companion before visibly showing her disinterest by folding hers in front of her, hands tucked within the sleeves. Diana turned her attention to the last mage as she spoke. She was shorter than the other two, but around their age. Her bright orange hair, freckled skin, and half-rimmed glasses set her from the rest of the group. She nervously looked at the three newcomers before addressing them,“My name is Charlotte Jansson, please call me Lotte. I.. umm talk to the spirits of the Fade and they offer what help they can.”

  
Diana, Hannah, and Barbara exchanged looks after the introductions were made, each understanding the unspoken, “This is the group that we’re set to? How did they make it through without being set to the Rite of Tranquility?” Covering a sigh behind her hand, Diana rubbed the bridge of her nose to try to dislodge the doubt already building in her mind. “Well, I would each of your words that whatever trouble was caused here was a one time incident and will not happen again so long as we’re traveling together?” The Knight-Corporal said to the group of gathered mages, her eyes flickering to the Senior Enchanter, “Yours as well as you were their teacher and hold the responsibility for what actions they have learned are acceptable for mages outside of the Circle’s direct protection.”

  
Finnelan spoke quickly, trying to rush the words affirming that they would take care of themselves as was appropriate for those of the Circle. Kagari stamped her foot in frustration, cheeks puffing outward, with both hands on her hips, “It wasn’t our fault! We were trying to help and it got out of hand!” She whined looking for sympathy in the eyes of the templar, receiving nothing by an icy blue coldness akin to the spells she favored she sighed and nodded, eyes shifting to the ground. “Fine! I promise. We’ll be good.” Finnelan shifted and covered her mouth as she seemed to cough, but Diana paid her no mind as she turned to the other two. Charlotte.. Lotte.. Quickly affirmed the promise that nothing else would happen. Sucy however only chuckled when templars turned to her, “What? With Akko coming? Look I’m not that bad of a liar.” As Lotte, Kagari, and Finnelan turned their glares unto her however Sucy finally shrugged her arms in defeat, “Fiiine. I promise that I won’t cause as much trouble as Akko does.” When this seemed like this was going to be the best anyone was able to get from her the templars shared another look between themselves before readying themselves.

  
“You understand what your job is right, Red Team?” Hannah finally asked, looking with near disgust towards the young mages. “You’re suppose to prepare for battle against the Darkspawn after we make a detour back to Denerim, so we can escort someone to the king himself. By the Maker if you ruin it, if you step out of line Andraste herself will not protect you from me.” Her finger waved between the three of them before Diana held up her hand and spoke, “Understand that this is our first mission as Knights of the Templar order, but do not believe that we are not as powerful as those who have guarded you here and protected the world from your kind since long before our mother’s mothers were alive. So, if we are all in agreement then we should head off and quickly. This was a mission that the king, himself, asked to be done.” Turning on her heel and sliding her great helm back into place on her head she began walking out to the sounds of her new charges giving shouts of surprise as they threw their packs over their shoulders and came after her.

 

* * *

 

The ruins of the once fortress of Ostagar shone in the distance like a beacon of hope and safety to Diana after the past few weeks on the road with her charges. The group of three templars and three mages had been charged to arrive in Denerim within two and a half weeks of their expected departure from the Circle’s Tower. It had taken them the entire allotted time due to the continuous issues that crept up one their travels.

  
Within the first few days it became common knowledge that Kagari (or Akko as she preferred to be called) and Sucy seemed to have had created quite a few bets that had left Akko indebted to her companion. Sucy enjoyed having her test new potions, salves, poisons, and the like before calling them ‘complete’. Some of these led to major delays as it left the red-eyed mage incapacitated for hours at times, often leading to one of the templars being forced to step in and purge the magic from her. Diana had made efforts to cut this activity off, but she wasn’t completely sure she was successful. This being said, outside of the new stresses of the guard detail the templars were now intrusted with and the animosity that ran deep between the two groups; the group made it to Denerim in one piece and met up with the person… rather (apparently) people they were suppose to be leading back to the king’s army.

 

* * *

 

The group now traveled south from Denerim, through the Hinterland and near the Korcari Wilds. Their feet setting onto the old Imperial Highway which lead to their destination. As it grew closer the groups weariness and exhaustion faded when they began walking through the ruins.

  
“Ho there! Duncan!” A large man called as he approached. His golden armor glistening in the sun as brightly as his hair. As he approached to lifted and took hold of the man’s hand whom they had gone to Denerim to meet up with.

  
Duncan had been a serious man when the group had met up with him on the riverside near Denerim’s docks. He was a shorter man compared to most, darker skin, with him arms and armor being more practical rather than stylish. He had claimed to be a Grey Warden and he also claimed to be returning to him order with a new recruit, a tall blue haired woman in glasses named Ursula, whom he had talked into joining him instead of fleeing to Kirkwall.

  
“King Cailan?” Duncan said, surprised and took hold of the man’s offered hand as greeting. “I didn’t expect…”

  
“A royal welcome?” The king cut him, his face shining with youthful exuberance at the return of his friend. “I was beginning to worry that you’d miss all the fun!”

  
“Not if I could Help it, your Majesty.” Duncan replied, looking at the king with a look of weathered weariness.

  
“Then I’ll have the might Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious!” Cailan shifted a step to place the Grey Warden at his side, his eyes having grown distant as if imagining the coming field of glory. “The other wardens told me you’ve found a promising new recruit! Though it seems they were wrong on the count.” The king smiled at the group of seven woman behind Duncan.

  
“No Your Majesty.” Diana stepped forward, bowing to the king. “I am Knight-Corporal Diana Cavendish. Myself,Knight Barbara Parker, and Knight Hannah English are all bound to the vows of the Maker’s service. Our duty was to bring Ser Duncan and his associate to you along with escort these three mages, Atsuko Kagari, Charlotte Jansson, and Sucy Manbavaran to assist as they can.”

  
The young king smiled fondly at Diana as she spoke, “My sincerest apologies to you and your’s then Knight-Corporal. I didn't mean to assume. Simply expected ones of your caliber to be prospects for the Grey Wardens as well.”

  
The older Grey Warden grimanced at the backhanded insult from behind the king, “Your Majesty. If they are willing I could certainly see to it that they are tested accordingly.” He waved his hand towards the last of the companions, ignoring Akko’s obvious interest in his statement. The woman stood off to one side, one hand fidgeting nervously at her side while the other ran through her travel dirty ponytail, a pair of glasses having shifted down her nose revealing naturally bright red eyes “This is Ursula Calistis. She has proven herself to be a strong candidate for the Wardens.”

  
King Cailin laughed at his friend, “There is no need to be so formal, Duncan. We’ll be shedding blood together, after all.” As he turned his smile to the woman before him he nodded his head in introduction. “Pleased to meet you!. The Grey Wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I for one and glad to help them.”

  
Ursula seemed to hesitate for a moment before bowing before him, her hair shifting to reveal a pair of pointed ears. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Your Highness.” She mumbled before standing straight again.

  
Shocked played across the king’s face. “Ah! I see you are an elf. From where do you hail?”

  
The blue haired woman seemed to grimace to the extended conversation. “I am from near Lake Calenhad Your Majesty. I lived with my family there before moving to Denerim.”

  
Nodding to this Cailan bowed his head respectfully to the Warden recruit then again to Diana and her group. “I apologize, but there is a war meeting that I must attend. However, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ostagar. We all benefit from your arrival here.” With a quick look over his shoulder he sighed. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits to eagerly bore me with his strategies.”

  
Duncan spoke up once more as the king began to turn, “Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week.”  
The king chortled at the remark,”Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory. We’ve won three battles already against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different. Again I apologize, I must be going. However, I do look to see you all tonight for the feast and then for the coming battle.” King Cailan gave the group one final bow before moving off, his two guards falling into step behind him.

  
Sighing the old Warden turned to his new recruit and their traveling companions. “We should be off as well. We need to get the rest of the recruits together. To the rest of you, I recommend getting with your seniors before finding a place to bed down until the battle. They may have specific orders for you.” He turned and with Ursula following headed off to the main part of the camp.

Watching him go, the remaining group turned to each other exchanging looks of surprise and (at least in Hannah’s case) star struck. “Well… Akko. I am sorry for ever saying you’re the stupidest person alive. I believe that now goes to our great king.” Sucy intoned, ignoring the gasp of surprise him her watchers. Akko turned to get friend, “Thank Sucy! He seemed really nice though even if he just talked to Lady Cavendish.” She added extra inflation and a bit of an eye roll at the name, though Diana ignored the jab. “Come on. The faster we check in, the faster we’re done with each other. Follow me so we can no longer have to deal with each other.” Diana said through her helmet, turning and following the path the king and Duncan left on.

  
When they checked it they found that they were in fact not done with each other. They were to be assigned to guard the Tower of Ishal for whatever grand plan the generals had set up. They would be guarding the tower as a group of six. Seemed like a safe job however since it was so far behind enemy lines. Something about the mission caused Diana to pull off her helmet and sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose to fight off the coming headache. Maybe it was the “Red Team’s” excitement (or Akko’s excitement that bled into the other two), or maybe it was something more that she just didn’t like the feeling of.


	2. The Last Night of Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I expected to be writing about the Tower of Ishal, instead our Mages and Templar wanted to extend their time just a little bit longer. I hope you don't mind and I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to comment or message with questions or follower me on Tumblr at http://loboapache18.tumblr.com/
> 
> Next Chapter will be on by November 18th! Sit tight and Enjoy the ride

**Chapter 2:** The Last Night of Peace

The sprawl of the army across the plains surrounding the ruined keep of Ostigar was impressive to even the most senior of officers within the army, often times pushing just beyond line of sight so it seemed more like a sea of tents rather than the organized war camp that it was. However by the sound of Akko’s gasp as the three mages (followed relatively closely by their Templar escorts) crest the bridge that had been constructed ages ago to span the large crevice between the main keep and the large tower that they had passed on the way to the main camp.

“Oh Sweet Maker! Lotte! Sucy! Look at all those people moving around! I can’t believe there are sooo many people.” The red-eyed elf squeed as her hands came to her chest in pure excitement. “I can’t believe there were this many people in the World, let alone right here for the battle!”

“Akko, you do realize we were on the outskirts of Denerim.. The largest city in Ferelden just a few days ago, right?” Sucy’s voice stayed in it’s usual, near mocking monotone, even if she had not looked away from the mesmerising sight in front of them. “A city that’s probably seven or times larger than what we see now?”

Akko turned and puffed her cheeks at her friend with indignation, “But Suzy! There are so many. I’ve never seen this many people!” She turned her head to Lotte, but her other friend was so wrapped up in the sight that even the small green spirit light she called her Spellwisp had stopped circling her head. Whining with frustration she tapped Lotte on the shoulder, who let out a small surprised yip.

“Akko! What.. Oh right!” Taking a moment to glance between Sucy and Akko, her mind racing to remember what she could of the world that was outside her own thoughts. “Umm.. Right. Well you’re both basically right? I mean Sucy is right that Denerim is bigger, but Akko you’ve never been outside of the Tower right?” Akko nodded, but before she could speak Lotte continued, “Well it’s not surprising that you haven’t seen this many people. By the Maker, I lived in Kirkwall until the Chantry took me in and transferred me to the Ferelden Circle and even there it would be a feat akin to a miracle of Andraste herself to get this many people gathered together in one place. Let alone for one specific purpose.” The bespeckled woman began to chew on the inside of her lip and in a voice just loud enough to heard she whispered, “This reminds me of volume three hundred and forty-seven… when..” Lotte shook her head, eyes turning back to the other two mages, her Spellwisp resuming its merry circle around her head, bobbing and weaving to its own whims.

Sucy snorted before, finally breaking her gaze from the sprawling camp to allow it to settle on her more immediate allies and the section of the camp that was just beyond this bridge. “Well Akko, congratulations, you’ve gotten one thing right today, so you’re ahead of your normal record of nothing.” Sucy flashed a quick shark toothed smile to the brunette, who had become distracted again.  She sighed inwardly at this woman that she called an acquaintance. “We could stand here all day and stare as our watch dogs,” Sucy pointed a thumb over her shoulder to the three Templars standing a few meters behind them having a conversation of their own, “slowly bake in their armor. Which by the way I am not against, but that would mean tiring out my legs just to mess with them.” Lotte’s and Akko’s heads lift and, with only a small glance over her shoulder to the other trio, looked at Sucy and nodded as they collected themselves emotionally. 

“Of course! I mean...  I don’t want to cook them, that sounds painful, but I mean that we should get headed over and check into whoever is in charge from the Circle.” Lotte said as they began to finish the last leg of their journey over the bridge. “You know Sucy… I know they’re Templars and all, but they don’t seem like bad people.” She added lowering her voice to keep the conversation private as they passed soldiers and engineers that were setting up siege engines for the impending battle.

Sucy scoffed, raising her voice slighty, just enough for it to carry back to the Templars that had began to follow them again, still talking amongst themselves. “Yeah, just Templars. The dogs of the Chantry. People trained to specifically hunt down and kill mages. To hunt down people like you, myself, and even little Akko just in case we suddenly lose ourselves to a demon or practice the  _ forbidden Blood Magic.”  _ Sucy spoke with such venom that many of the soldiers around them turned and warily watched the group as they passed by where they worked.

A familiar voice spoke up behind them, cold with authority Diana recited,

“Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him.    
Foul and corrupt are they   
Who have taken His gift   
And turned it against His children.   
They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones.   
They shall find no rest in this world   
Or beyond.

 

So said the Maker in the Chant of Light.” She had sped up her steps and her charge’s voice raised until she stood no more than a few feet behind them. “We are here to protect the people against those that would misuse the power. We are watchers and guardians of the rest of the world against the mages. Only those who consort with demons or have plans to use their powers against the innocent need fear us.” Diana and Sucy stared each other down, one with cold fury of the forcibly repressed and the other with the icy certainty that came with years of teaching and confidence in that.

“That’s not right!” Akko bounded between the two of them, hands on her hips and her hair pulled back to reveal her pointed ears. “We just want to live normal lives! Sure demons and Abominations are terrible, but most of us are just regular people… Who can summon fire from our finger tips, but still! It’s not Right Diana! This is my first time ever seeing this many people, like ever! Like, Andraste’s tits, I want to show this to all of the kids back at the Circle Tower. Diaaana, we’re not monsters!” Before the Diana could even open her mouth to respond, a auburn head shoved between the three woman. Hannah’s hair flaired back like an angry bird as her eyes burned with such complete hatred that it caused Akko to take a step back in surprise.”YES YOU ARE!” She shouted into the elf’s face, gauntleted hand poking her in the chest as she continued. “You are monsters, every single one of you is a raging bonfire ready to be set off at a moments notice and when. Yes When and not If, because it will happen eventually. WHEN you go off, when you are lit you will destroy those around you and murder without rhyme or reason. You’re All Monsters And You Think That You Actually People.”   The fury and primal rage released in the outburst was so strong that Barbara, Lotte, and Akko along with those that had began to gather around them were forced back onto their heels. Sucy moved suddenly, pulling her arms from their sleeve pockets and stepping forward… right into Diana’s shoulder plate as Diana moved with the speed of a trained warrior. She grasped her friend’s outstretched arm and quickly twisted it back and into Hannah’s leather chest piece.

“Knight-Sister English, You will stand down and cool off. That’s an Order.” Diana’s voice come out as a deathly cold, but even tone, one the pierced through the red anger that had fallen over Hannah’s eyes. Hannah snapped back, nearly stumbling over her heels as she pulled away and awkwardly moved away from her former target, avoiding eye contact with everyone around them. “As you say Knight-Corporal,” She mumbled out as Barbara step up beside her.

As she stepped away, Sucy sneered and stage whispered. “Oh look, another Templar losing their cool at their pets wanting to be treated human. How terrible.” Whispers rippled through the surrounded crowd before the Knight-Corporal’s eyes skirted over it and bored into Sucy. “Jansson, get your two companions to the Circle’s camp area immediately before this becomes more of a scene then it already is.” Lotte quailed for a moment under the sudden attention before she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Sucy whispering into her ear in a near panic of the scene in front of her, “Come on, let’s get going. You shouldn’t provoke them..” Sucy allowed herself to be pulled away with a small malicious smile touching her lips before turning and looking at Lotte when she began wrapping Sucy’s arm with a bandage, muttering about a small cut that had began to bleed over her robes.

Akko took a step after them, before turning back and walking up to Diana. Her features having recovered from the shock and slight fear of being shouted down by a warrior trained seemed to have shifted to show a touch of concern and slight apprehension. “I told Jansson to take the two of you to the Circle camp. What do you want Kagari?” Diana said, her eyes narrowing as her anger focused in on the woman in front of her. Akko squirmed slightly for a moment before she collected herself and stood up straight to look over the Templar’s shoulder, “I wanted to make sure that Hannah was okay. That was intense and I don’t know what I said wrong, but I wanted to apologize to her and try to make it better.” The shock that shot through Diana must have been so strong that it played across her face causing a confused expression to settle onto her charge’s visage. “Is something wrong?” The red-eyed elf asked softly, her voice fluttering between worry and confusion. 

“No..” Diana started, then pulling in a breath as she looked at the make, “Well yes. There is something wrong, but it is not of your concern Kagari. You did not say anything wrong. Knight-Sister English was out of line with her reaction and will be disciplined for it. She should not have spoken to you in such a way, especially in public, especially not in front of the superior officer.” Diana looked over her shoulder to see Hannah and Barbara  now at the farthest end of the bridge, close to where they had entered the ruins. She turned back to the mage in front of her, Akko’s features still lined in worry. “You have nothing to apologize for. In truth she should have to apologize to you and I will make sure she does so.” Akko immediately threw her hands up to wave off the idea. “No! There is no need for that! I just want to make sure she’s okay. Sucy can be a bit much, especially when dealing with the Templars. So I just wanted to check up on her, y’know? Make sure she doesn’t hate Sucy after that.” The bright smile that spread across Akko’s face  caught Diana off guard by the sincerity of it, so much so that she had to fight off a matching one that wanted to spread across her own lips. “This is the longest we’ve ever talked Diana! She should do this more often!” Akko turned and began running after her friends, but not before turning two steps into her run and waving back at Diana shouting, “By the way, stop calling my Kagari! Please call me Akko. We’re friends after all.” She then turned and ran straight into a beam that two soldiers were carrying to a nearby catapult. She bounced back up laughing and reassuring the two and took off after her friends. Diana yanked her hand down back to her side, feeling foolish for keeping it up even as the woman impacted the support beam.  _ “She yelled at you,” _ Diana thought, “ _ And yet you still want to apologize. Just who are you Kaga….Who are you Akko?” _

* * *

 

Akko, Sucy, and Lotte all stood in front of the wizened woman who seemed to act as de facto leader of the mages at Ostagar. “ Kagari, Jansson, and Manbavaran. You were suppose to be here nearly four days ago, at the latest.” Wynne said to them, her white hair buffeted by the winds that were generated by the nearby mages who were midway through a ritual that allowed them to enter the Fade. “We were umm… delayed due to.. Umm unforeseen issues,” Akko flubbled back, “Ms. Archmage, Senior Enchantress, Ma’am.” 

Wynne sighed as the looked over the trio of students whom she, and the circle, had basically helped raise.  “Akko, honestly I am impressed beyond reason that there aren’t reports coming in saying that three mages hadn’t set fire to the entire Kakari Wilds in some accident.” The older woman smiled the younger elven woman’s cheeks puffed out in frustration and embarrassment, “We haven’t set anything on fire in years Wynne!.” The mauve haired mage snickered beside them, “Except for the storage caverns, or the campfire a few nights ago, or the bookshelves that week before we left the Tower.”

“Sucy! Those weren’t my fault! Even the bookcase… I sneezed halfway through a spell.” Akko’s eyes shifted to the ground as she kicked a small stone causing the other three to laugh. “Don’t worry too terribly much about it Akko. We’re going to need your skills tonight.” Wynne said, placing a hand on her’s and Lotte’s shoulders the trio of younger mages in a huge hug. “I’ve been able to talk to the king and the General. I’ve talked them into allowing us to send a small group of mages to the Tower of Ishal, a key location for the battle even though it should be relatively safe and as far back from the main fighting as we can get anyone. I know you three are fresh from the tower and I really do not want to expose you to the horrors of war, so I was able to persuade them to allow you and the group of templars that you came in with to augment the current force that is stationed there.”

Sucy’s teeth bared slightly as she grimaced at the mention of the Templars, attempting to and failing to conceal it before Wynne noticed. “Now Sucy, I do not have much love for them either however this was the only way they would have gone for my plan. I know you would have prefered otherwise, but we just can’t do it. I am sorry.” Sucy sighed and nodded, “At least we got them and not an entirely new group. This way I already know the buttons to press.” The mages turned to her in unison, still bound in the hug and she laughed. “I’m joking, mostly. I will play nice.” Wynne nodded before she pulled away. “Now remember, this is still an important assignment. There will be a Grey Warden there to make sure that the beacon is lit at the right moment to allow General Loghain to charge, do your best and most of all…” She turned and gave them each a maternal once over, fixing collars, rubbing dirty off their cheeks with a wet thumb, and patting their shoulders affectionately. “Most of all, be save. You’re the future of the mages. You’re my students and I want to see you after this.” Akko raised a tentative hand that prompted Wynne to laugh again, “Yes Akko, you can eat first. Just make sure the three of you are at the tower’s base in two hours. Don’t forget to carry some extra lyrium and a few potions just in case.” The three women nodded and headed off, feeling the bright flame of hope and love from Wynne’s gaze as they did so.


End file.
